# How Can Truth Social be worth $6 Billion? {Trump Media & Technology (DJT)}

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Tags:** trump\
**Created:** [March 22, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202 "2024-03-22T13:23:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 46

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/901 "2024-10-31T14:59:20Z")

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Down an additional 15% today so far

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/902 "2024-10-31T15:08:09Z")

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> [@hajario](#):
>
> Definitely some pump and dumping going on.

Where’s the pumping (the “false and misleading positive statements”) happening?

> **[Pump and dump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_and_dump)**
>
> This is an accepted version of this page 
> Pump and dump (P&D) is a form of securities fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements (pump), in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price (dump). Once the operators of the scheme "dump" (sell) their overvalued shares, the price falls and investors lose their money. This is most common with small-cap cryptocurrencies and very small corporations/companies, i.e....

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**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/903 "2024-10-31T16:45:12Z")

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Full title: **Trump loses $1.3 billion in net worth after the worst-ever day for his social media stock**

> **[Trump loses $1.3 billion in net worth after the worst-ever day for his social...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/30/business/trump-stock-truth-social/index.html)**
>
> After a ridiculous spike over the past five weeks that had absolutely nothing to do with the company’s actual business, former President Donald Trump’s social media stock is suffering a sudden setback.

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**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/904 "2024-10-31T16:50:49Z")

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> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> Where’s the pumping (the “false and misleading positive statements”) happening?

The “pumping” was inflating the price of the stock way beyond what it was remotely rational to value the stock at.

It seems someone started buying which goosed the value and others piled in (probably) due to FOMO. Then those who pumped the stock bailed and people realized they made a mistake and they bailed and the price plummets.

It also may be someone was trying to affect the election by pumping the stock.

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**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/905 "2024-10-31T17:37:58Z")

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> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> The “pumping” was inflating the price of the stock way beyond what it was remotely rational to value the stock at.

A defining feature of pump-and-dump is that the “pumping” activities are illegal, e.g. falsely claiming that a publicly-traded mining company has found a massive vein of gold. Even if someone was pouring money into stock purchases with the intent of starting a bubble, I don’t think that counts as pumping.

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**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/906 "2024-10-31T17:49:16Z")

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Sure it does.

There are plenty of terms that are used as specific jargon in particular fields but are used differently by the general public. Treason is one of them - it has a specific legal definition but it’s pretty clearly more limited than the general way we use that term.

Likewise, there may be a legal definition of ‘pump and dump’ that may not be met but that does not mean that what we generally understand to be a pump and dump scheme is not happening.

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**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/907 "2024-10-31T17:54:48Z")

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> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> It also may be someone was trying to affect the election by pumping the stock.

Were I the type to think conspiratorially, I might think that the gush of red-leaning polls were an attempt to boost the image that Trump was heading back to office, thus inflating the share price in time for certain individuals to be able to sell their shares.

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**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/908 "2024-10-31T18:00:12Z")

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> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> Likewise, there may be a legal definition of ‘pump and dump’ that may not be met but that does not mean that what we generally understand to be a pump and dump scheme is not happening.

But a pump and dump scheme is usually understood as being a means to extract wealth from lesser-knowledgeable investors by convincing them to buy shares at inflated prices, usually via supplying misinformation about the shares. We haven’t really seen anyone trying to talk up this company lately, these actions all seem to be arising out of thin air.

Someone actually spending their own money to buy shares to drive up the price doesn’t really work to extract money from other people.

This seems more like a scheme to transfer wealth from some rich person to someone else, in a way that can’t be considered an obvious bribe, or other kind of crime.

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**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/909 "2024-10-31T20:35:35Z")

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Could be.

I’m not on the platform but there but apparently there are a lot of scams floating around Twitter/X. I would not be shocked if there were some targeted ads to the especially gullible. Perhaps to the extent of being illegal. Or perhaps not.

To be honest, I simply assumed there was a bit of that going on, but maybe they’re being more scrupulous on that end than I give 'em credit for.

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**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/910 "2024-10-31T22:32:53Z")

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Retail Investors (AKA individual investors) are the ones bailing now.

[https://www.marketwatch.com/story/djt-stock-has-seen-aggressive-selling-by-retail-investors-leading-into-election-37863fce](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/djt-stock-has-seen-aggressive-selling-by-retail-investors-leading-into-election-37863fce)

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**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2024, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/911 "2024-10-31T22:37:24Z")

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Investopedia:

> Pump-and-dump is a [manipulative scheme](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/12/legal-business-practices-of-dubious-ethics.asp) that attempts to boost the price of a stock or security through fake recommendations. These recommendations are based on false, misleading, or greatly exaggerated statements. The perpetrators of a pump-and-dump scheme already have an established position in the company’s stock and will sell their positions after the hype has led to a higher share price.

So among investors, the term is fairly broad as well.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/912 "2024-11-01T17:20:27Z")

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> [@Hermitian](#):
>
> Referencing the title, it’s market cap is now $9 Billion.

And now it is $6 billion again. (6.04 at the time of this post.)

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/913 "2024-11-02T00:43:46Z")

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Somebody made some serious scratch. Other lost their asses.

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/914 "2024-11-02T13:47:04Z")

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I was looking for comparative numbers for DJT. Since it is losing money it’s P/E ratio is negative. From [here](https://www.gurufocus.com/term/pettm/DJT):

“DJT’s PE Ratio (TTM) is ranked worse than 100% of 263 companies in the Interactive Media industry Industry Median: 19.09 vs DJT: At Loss”

Yep, definitely worth billions, definitely.

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**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/915 "2024-11-02T21:09:07Z")

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I noticed yesterday on the site I check prices that the P/E ratio was listed is N/A.

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/916 "2024-11-05T22:32:24Z")

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Another volatile day. Had to halt trading a time or two after a sudden steep plunge. Ended the day essentially break-even. They released their quarterly earnings report today, hoping for the news to buried in election coverage. It wasn’t too bad–they lost only $19 million this quarter.

> **[Trump Media loses $19.2 million in third quarter, surprise Election Day...](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/05/trump-media-loses-19point2-million-in-third-quarter-surprise-election-day-filing-reveals.html)**
>
> Trump Media reported Tuesday a loss for the third quarter along with a slight drop in already meager revenue.

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**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/917 "2024-11-06T00:05:15Z")

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> [@Darren\_Garrison](#):
>
> It wasn’t too bad–they lost only $19 million this quarter.

According to the article, that was pretty good, compared to the total loss of 363 million for all 3 quarters.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/918 "2024-11-06T00:23:58Z")

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Which raises the question of what they changed to go from losing ~$170M/quarter to losing $19M. That’s a ~90% reduction in losing. In a moribund company with negligible operations.

Can you say “fake numbers?”

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**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/919 "2024-11-06T23:05:12Z")

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> [@Jophiel](#):
>
> If you think Trump will win the election then it makes sense to buy as it would certainly jump in value afterwards.

That didn’t happen. Opened at 44, peaked at 46 and closed at 36 with highest volume in 2 years. I think the dump phase is complete.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-truth-social-be-worth-6-billion-trump-media-technology-djt/999202/920 "2024-11-06T23:52:42Z")

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At this moment down to $32.71 after hours.

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